The Unkapanı Değirmeni University Transformation, Restoration, and Groundbreaking Ceremony took place on Friday, October 10, 2025, at the project site in Fatih-Unkapanı. The groundbreaking ceremony for the complex, which will operate within our university's Süleymaniye Campus in Istanbul's central Historic Peninsula, was held with the honorable participation of the Minister of Culture and Tourism, Mehmet Nuri Ersoy.
Speaking at the ceremony, Minister Ersoy stated that the Unkapanı Değirmeni, once one of Istanbul's most important food production and distribution centers, is now stepping into a new era where it will produce anew with knowledge, ideas, and thought. Emphasizing that the project will be an exemplary initiative connecting the past to the future, Minister Ersoy said that this historical venue will become a center of knowledge where the heart of culture, art, and education beats, and that the complex will breathe again with the voices of youth, the energy of ideas, and the light of science.
Our Chairman of the Board of Trustees, Prof. Dr. İrfan Gündüz, also spoke at the ceremony, thanking those who contributed to the project that has enabled the restoration of such an important structure for our university and Istanbul.
In his speech, our Rector, Prof. Dr. Atilla Arkan, stated that the project has been brought to life in a manner befitting cultural, artistic, and intellectual activities, emphasizing that the restored and newly constructed complex will serve as a central and significant space where Ibn Haldun University's academic knowledge meets the community.
Delivering brief speeches at the ceremony, the Chairwoman of the Board of TÜRGEV, our university's founding foundation, Atty. Hatice Akıncı Yılmaz, stated that the venue will become a gem of our university as a beautiful center in the heart of Istanbul. Fatih Mayor M. Ergün Turan expressed that this center, which will unite Istanbul's ancient past and bright future, will bring a fresh breath of air to Fatih.
AK Party Deputy Chairman and former Fatih Mayor Mustafa Demir, who also attended the ceremony, stated that the Unkapanı Değirmeni project, whose foundation was laid today, is a work that both preserves the spirit of history and shapes the future. He added that it is vital
for this nearly lost space to be transformed into a center where young people can thrive, ideas are generated, and science is actively discussed.
The program ended with prayers and the groundbreaking ceremony.
